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Individualism versus Collectivism in The Fountainhead

This controversial novel was written in 1943. Ayn Rand considers the concepts of individualism and collectivism not in politics but in human’s soul. The author brilliantly shows basic premises and the psychological motivations of an individualist or a collectivist. The book is about people who allow others to dominate their lives and those who think for themselves.
The book tells us a story of Howard Roark, a talented architect. His brilliant and radically new designs are not accepted and are misunderstood by the society. Howard Roark struggles to win acceptance for his ideas against the masses, who follow established norms and are afraid change. He believes that creator’s integrity is always reflected in his work. Roark is an individualist. He doesn’t need to use other people in any manner. Roark believes that the needs of the individual can never be sacrificed to the needs of the group.
So, we can say that an individualist is a man who saw nothing wrong with his beliefs. Despite the reaction of others, he thinks it is normal to care only for himself.
On the other hand, we can see the second-hander. They don’t care about facts and ideas. They're concerned only with people and their opinion. They don’t ask: Is this true? They ask: Is this what others believe is true? In Ayn Rand’s novel collectivism is defined as people that are influenced and want to be a “socially accepted” person. That is everything they need. Peter Keating, also an architect, is an example of such a second-hander who provides the public with what it want, borrowing everything from other architects.
Ellsworth Toohey is the antagonist and he is an architectural critic. He wants to exterminate Roark, kill his aspiration and his integrity. His main purpose is to create a collectivist society. The society where the thought of each man will not be his own. Collectivism is represented by saying that the mass works together for a greater cause and to become equal. The world where no man has his own desire but satisfies the desire of his neighbor.
Ayn Rand shows individualist as a person who achieves their purposes, despite the fails during his way. The Fountainhead says that the individualist always had to struggle throughout history and they always win. In The Fountainhead, individualism wins and the end of the novel returns to Roark's belief that only by allowing some individuals to climb higher, humanity will be able to progress.

This controversial novel was written in 1943. Ayn Rand considers the concepts of individualism and collectivism not in politics but in human’s soul. The author brilliantly shows basic premises and the psychological motivations of an individualist or a collectivist. The book is about people who allow others to dominate their lives and those who think for themselves.